A Day of Rest
by mystic-Hoshi
Summary: [2 part] Saving the world is quite some work, so why not take a rest once in a while? [Cloud x Aeris]
1. Part 1

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A Day of Rest

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"Wahh!"

Cloud looked over to see what Aeris was wowing at this time. She was leaning out the opened window, and was slightly swaying back and forth. She was always so energetic and enthusiastic about everything they came across. They had just arrived at the hotel in Costal del Sol during late morning, and it was already the afternoon after getting settled.

"The sea! Wah…I never seen one before!" Aeris continued gazing out the window.

"So…this is your first time here?" Cloud asked, then thought, '_What kind of stupid question was that? Didn't she just say she never seen the sea before?' _

"Yes!" Aeris answered, not seemingly affect by the useless question.

Cloud walked over to where Aeris was standing, placed his hand at the window's frame, and looked outside. The area was indeed …beautiful, if that is the word to use. The water was not polluted and gave off a fresh feeling, while the golden sand sparkled with emotion.

"We're staying here for the day right? Can we go outside to the beach? It'll be fun!" Aeris laughed. Her mood was painted on her face.

Tifa and Yuffie are doing some shopping, while Cid, Barret, and Vincent are just staying in the hotel to get away from the heat. Red and Cait Sift are just outside and enjoying the sun. "I guess."

Without a warning, Cloud was dragged by a cheery Aeris and was at a shop outside before he knew it.

"Wha-t?" Everything happened so fast.

"I need a swimsuit!" Aeris rushed inside.

"…huh?" Cloud just stared at the shop for a few seconds before he actually walked inside. As soon as he did, he regretted it. It was defiantly not the kind of place he wanted to be in, since the shop keepers were…quite scary especially when they were looking for money. He quickly walked over to Aeris, who was browsing some swimsuits, and said, "I'll wait outside, okay?"

She simply smiled and nodded.

Cloud walked back outside and stood near the doorway. '_Hmm…I should change into shorts or something…hey wait! Why am I actually going?...it's not like I have anything to do though…' _Cloud quickly went back to the hotel.

………………………

'_Aw…I wanted to tease Cloud by forcing him to say here, but he looked so scared…'_Aeris thought, smiling. '_He's such a child sometimes.'_

She continued to browse the racket of swimsuits. "Hmm…should I wear a two piece or a one piece? But a one piece takes a bit longer to wear, so a two piece! Light green…white…red…orange…so many colours to choose from!"

A sudden thought came into her mind, _'I wonder what Cloud would like…maybe I should've made him stay after all…' _Aeris felt herself blush. _'But isn't that's what girl and boy friends do? Like…suggesting what kind of clothes is good for each other…Wah! I'm glad I didn't make him stay…it would be so embarrassing, him seeing me try on different swimsuits…and I'm not even that…well…I'm not sure…' _Aeris looks at herself self consciously. "_Moee_…" She continues to look through the rack.

………………………

Cloud was back at the store's entrance already changed into his navy blue shorts and dark orange collared, button-up shirt. "Girls…" He muttered, while leaning against a nearby wall and crossing his arms across his chest.

When he least expected it, Aeris came out the store and hopped one big step towards him. There she was, smiling and clasping her hands around a bag behind her back like she always did. She was wearing a pink two piece swimsuit, with a silky white transparent cloth tied loosely at her hips.

'…_well…' _Was all Cloud thought, and he quickly looked away, blushing. _'I never saw her dress like that before.'_

Unknown to him, Aeris was blushing too. _'I wonder if I look okay…'_

"…uh…that is….let's go…" Cloud managed to say while looking off to the side.

"Okay…" Aeris was looking at the floor. _'He looks good in blue and orange…ah! What am I thinking?'_

As soon as they reached the beach, the awkwardness had already passed and Aeris retained her cheeriness. "The breeze feels so good!"

Unfortunately for Cloud though, he was still not use to seeing Aeris dressed like _this_, so he was still trying to avoid looking at her. "Yeah…"

"What's wrong?" Aeris looked up at Cloud as usual, which caused him to blush once again.

He turned his head to the side and moved his hand in front of his face, in an 'attempt' to hide the blush, which made it even more obvious. "N-Nothing."

"Let's get some popsicles! It's good to have something cold on a hot day."

"I'll get them. What flavor do you want?"

"Umm…oh! The new one! Sea-salt!"

Cloud smiled at Aeris' eagerness. "Okay." He then left on the errand.

"I hope that would ease his shyness…" Aeris said softly.

When Cloud came back with the popsicles, Aeris had already found an empty spot to sit down and set her things there. He quickly spotted her and headed over.

He sat down, "Here." Aeris took the popsicle she was handed and started to eat it happily.

Cloud smiled at her once again.

'_Is this the behavior I find so endearing?' _After realizing what he thought, he quickly began eating his popsicle to hide his newly formed blush.

………………………

"Let's go swimming!" Aeris bounced up and proclaimed, after they had finished their treat.

"But…do you know how to swim?" Cloud asked, a bit amused, for he expected a 'no' for an answer.

Aeris turned and looked at him, "What's with that face?"

Cloud chuckled.

"Even though…I just realized that I don't know how to swim…" Aeris said sheepishly.

Cloud started to _laugh_. Aeris was shocked for a second, but she then joined him.

After calming down, Aeris asked, "Do you know how to swim? I wouldn't want the two of us drowning out there…"

Cloud chuckled, "Yeah, I know how."

"Really? Yay!"

"But I'm not that good…I just know the basics."

"That's okay! We only need the basics!" Aeris extended her hand towards Cloud, and he took it. Then she started to run to the water.

Instead of feeling embarrassed, Cloud ran with her. They paused when they met the ocean, and stared at it for a moment. When they realized that they were still holding hands, both of them let go immediately, and looked away, blushing.

'_Why am I blushing so much? I hope it stops…' _

'_His hand is so warm, compared to mine…'_

Aeris stepped in the water first. "So cold!"

"You'll get use to it."

Aeris then noticed that Cloud was still wearing his shirt. "Are you going to swim like that?"

"Hmm…Why not?"

"With a shirt on?"

"…uh…sure…" _'Well…it's not comfortable when you get out of the water but…'_

"But it's not comfortable when you get out of the water…you know, it sticks to you…"

"…I…know…" _'I know that…but…how should I explain…I can't!'_

Aeris felt like teasing him, since he seemed like he didn't know what to do. She laughed at the thought, "Take it off then!"

"What?" Cloud slightly jumped.

"Or do you want me to help you?" Aeris just realized what she just said, and as a result, her cheeks became a scarlet red. She turned to look at the ocean.

'_If you help me…I would…faint.' _Cloud waved his hands frantically, "N-No! I-I can man-age…"

"Um…Okay!" Aeris hurried to the water, not caring if it was cold. She just wanted to hide her burning face. When the water reached up to her neck, she stopped going. _'Oh my gosh…I can't believe I just said that…even though I don't mean it…but…I hope he doesn't think I'm a…'_

"Aeris."

''_That gave me a scare…'_ She turned around, "Yes?"

"Are you going to swim with that?" He pointed to the silk cloth she had around her waist.

"Um, no…I should put it back at the shore." She went pass Cloud._ '…I completely forgot.' _

"Just…"

Aeris stopped and turned around, "Yes?"

"Tie it around your hair."

She cocked her head to the side in question.

"Give it to me."

"Oh, okay." Aeris fumbled with the not and finally got it loose. "Here."

Cloud took the cloth and wrapped it around her pink ribbon, and made another ribbon. During this time, Aeris was just staring at Cloud's collarbones, blushing. _'His arms are around me…well…sort of.'_

When he was done, he stepped back a little and smiled sheepishly, "Kind of cruddy, but it saves time and energy." Cloud was expecting some sort of a smart comment, but when none came, he studied Aeris more carefully and found that she was simply staring at him.

'_Why is she looking at me like that? It makes me…nervous.' _Cloud started to blush, for the fifth time that day. (A/N: Really? Yeah, I counted.)

Some children were playing nearby, and as a result, a beach ball came flying towards them. Aeris saw it and dodged it in time which resulted in her slipping forward and landing right on Cloud.

"Sorry!" The children shouted, which seemed very far away at the moment.

Aeris just froze up, and didn't know if she should move or not. _'I…how did this happen? I…can hear his heart…'_

Cloud was shocked and his heart was beating rapidly. _'If this goes on…' _Cloud moved back, which cause Aeris to completely fall forward and splash into the water.

Cloud sweat dropped, "Uh…"

Aeris quickly resurfaced (as she could reach the ground) and exclaimed, "Why did you do that for? At least wait for me to regain my posture!"

Cloud tried to hold his laughter, but he couldn't. Aeris was soaked, and she was making such a fuss. "Um…sorry? Heh…heh."

"Ah! You're the worst!" Aeris started splashing water at Cloud.

"Hey!" He started to retaliate.

They spent the rest of the afternoon fooling around like that, which, according to both of them, wasn't a waste of time.

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Disclaimer: There is none! HA! I own the story!

A/N: OMGosh! That was one, fluff choking fic! That was pain! Well…no…but it was so hard to write. X.x For an immature kid like me, what do you expect. XD But still…that was one of the most fluffiest fics I ever wrote in my life…it's not just corny-it's fluffy! (Sounds like some kind of special food hahaha)

Oh...and yeah...it's a stupid title, but i dunno what to call it...like, beach or something? Right... T.T And i know a beach scene is so original (NOT), but the idea just came to me...at night...again. TT.TT

Oh, for those that don't know, '_Moe_'(what Aeris said near the beginning) is like 'Oh gosh' or 'Oh my' in English. :)

There's gonna be a follow up for this, so don't worry. I originally was gonna write more and not make it two chapters, but I thought, "I don't want the readers to actually _choke_ on the fluff, so I shall stop here and update the rest later."

Yes, beware, more fluff… (Doom doom doom) So set the story on alert. :D

One more thing and I'll shut up. (YES) I had no A/N in the beginning to make it look…nice…hahah…I doubt it worked though…sad. :P


	2. Part 2

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A Day of Rest

2

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"I'm so tired! You didn't even let up one bit!" Aeris exclaimed, while stretching her arms upwards.

"Of course not! Or you would've drowned me with all that water!" With that said, he plopped down the blanket they bought just now.

Aeris lay down, shifted to her side so she was facing Cloud and closed her eyes. _'If only we could stay like this forever.'_

Cloud felt her move, so he opened his eyes and looked over. Aeris was just resting silently. _'We're not too close, or else I would've been blushing again… she looks so peaceful like that…' _Cloud extended his hand and almost touched her face, but he stopped right on time and bought it back. _'What am I doing? I better face the other way…' _With that thought in mind, he shifted to the other side. _'Really…'_

They both lay there in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Aeris decided to stir first and opened her eyes. _'Is he asleep?' _Aeris sat up and inched over. She leaned over a bit to get a good view of Cloud's face. _'I can't tell…' _So she just continued staring at him and spacing out. _'This reminds me of the time we first met…formally. '_Aeris smiled.

Cloud eventually got a feeling that he was being watched, so he opened his eyes to be met with a pair of green ones. _'This seems familiar…'_

"Good morning." Aeris smiled at him.

"I wasn't sleeping…" Cloud replied with a grunt.

"The sun is almost setting! Let's walk along the beach." Aeris got up and stretched.

Cloud noticed some guys near the walkway eyeing her, so he took his shirt, stood up, and placed in on Aeris' shoulders.

"Hm?" Aeris turned to him in question. "I'm not cold…"

"Just…wear it." Cloud looked away. _'Jeez…it seems like I'm her boyfriend or something…' _He immediately blushed at the thought. _'Not again!'_

Aeris finally understood when she saw some guys nearby. _'He's such a gentleman…heh, I should tease him.' _Aeris made a playful face, and then said, "Those guys over there don't look that bad…wonder if I should go and talk to them."

Cloud immediately looked at her, "What? Why?"

"Why, you ask. Well, they're good looking."

"But-" Cloud stopped. _'Well, I can't tell her not too…but…why do I feel like I want to?'_

"Hmm…is someone jealous?"

"Of course not!"

"Then what's with the immediate answer?"

"If I paused, you would've said, 'what's was the pause for?'" Cloud said, then muttered, "Women…"

"I could go over right?"

'_Is she for real?' _Cloud looked away, "Sure." _'Why should I care?'_

Aeris laughed lightly, "But I wouldn't anyways."

Now Cloud was confused, "…Huh?"

"I was just joking! Besides…" Aeris smiled genuinely and lowered her voice, "I have you, what more do I want?" With that said, she started to walk along the shores of the beach, tightly holding Cloud's shirt around her.

Cloud stood there for a moment, speechless. _'Was it just me, or did she just say what I thought she said?'_ Still undecided, he simply followed Aeris' trail.

'_And he's really good looking too, even though he doesn't know it.' _Aeris thought with a laugh. _'He doesn't even know why random girls go and talk to him! Ah…I should wait for him.' _

Cloud was just staring at the ground and walking. He stopped when he realized that Aeris stopped too, and looked up at her.

"Come on, lighten up! We're just going for a little walk." Aeris then proceeded to poke him. As soon as her finger came in contact with his side, Cloud reflexively jumped back.

"You're…ticklish." Aeris stated, rather than asked.

"Um…Yeah." _'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?'_

"Really?" Aeris laughed and started to poke him.

"Ah! No! Stop it! It tickles!" Cloud started to run away from Aeris, so she just ran after him.

Cloud stopped abruptly and turned around. Out of fear of his retaliation, Aeris ran the other way. Now Cloud was chasing after her. Eventually, Cloud caught her arm. The sudden contact surprised Aeris so she dropped Cloud's shirt and lost her footing as well, but Cloud caught her just in time which also resulted in hugging her from behind. Cloud's cheek immediately heated up, while Aeris' breath became shallow.

'_I can feel my face going red again, but somehow…I just want to stay like this…but…will Aeris feel uncomfortable?' _

'_I can feel his skin on my back…and I can smell him. He smells good…I just want to stay like this for a while, since it's not like we can always be like this…' _

Neither of them moved an inch, so they just stayed like that for a while. The beach was mostly deserted, with no one around. There was comfortable silence, until Aeris said, "We should get going or else it's going to be dark."

Cloud finally let go of her, "Um…yeah." He quickly walked back to get their belongings, all the while still blushing really hard. _'Traitorous blush! Why don't you leave me alone!'_

Aeris picked up Cloud's shirt._ 'I never expected Cloud to hold me for so long…I was afraid I was going to faint! Besides, the others might see us like this. Yuffie and Cid would never let this go! If that happened, Cloud would be so embarrassed.' _

Cloud approached Aeris and said, "Let's go." He didn't even wait for an answer and just started to walk back.

'_He must be really embarrassed.' _Aeris followed him and said, "I'll carry the bag."

"No, it's okay." Cloud didn't even turn around. _'I…can't face her…she might be angry or something… and I'm scared that I'll blush in front of her…again.'_

"Your shirt…"

"Hold on to it for now."

"Okay…" Aeris put it around her shoulders. _'I should say something before we get back…' _she thought, a bit worried.

They started to walk back in silence and all the way Aeris was in deep thought. She wanted to talk, not small talk, but about something from the bottom of her heart. She knew what she wanted to say, but words were not forming in her head. They were almost back at the inn when she was finally prepared for her words. She grabbed Cloud's free hand. He didn't even turn around or say a word.

'_Why all of a sudden? I don't have courage to face her. I-I still remember what just happened… too clearly!' _

Seeing no reaction from Cloud, she let go of his arm, went in front of him and tried to look at his face, which was looking at the ground, "Thank you for spending the whole day with me, it was really fun."

Cloud blinked. "Huh?" He didn't expect her to say that. "…I enjoyed it too."

"We should do this again sometime. You and…me." Aeris cheeks went slightly pink at her last few words.

"Um, sure…" Cloud was looking at her, who was now the one looking at the ground. _'Okay…so far no blushing. Good.'_

Cloud was satisfied with that thought, but it immediately became history when Aeris wrapped her arms around his waist. Cloud dropped the bag that he was carrying. _'That was no accident…'_

'_I'm blushing so much.' _Aeris quickly let go and looked at the floor. _'I can't believe I just did that!' _To cover her embarrassment, she quickly said, "I'm so tired! I'm going to leave without you!" She started to run back to the inn. In truth, she didn't want Cloud to see her burning face. _'It would be worst if he sees! I never blush in front of him! …almost. But he might make some smart remark.'_

Cloud just stood there for a moment before he said, "What? If you're that tired why are you running?"

Aeris paused and turned around. When she saw his face, she laughed, then went back to running. _'Well…he defiantly saw the blush…I guess it doesn't matter…' _Aeris thought with a smile.

"Wait!" Cloud took off after her, laughing at the silliness of this.

Well, love is a silly thing sometimes, isn't it?

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A/N: Lol….i dunno about the ending…was it crappy? I didn't know how to end it! Had a writer's block….sadd….why? And poor Cloud hahah…I just made him ticklish because, well, for the sake of the story? Lol...was it OOC? I hope not. But then again, there are always some traits that people have (and are not known…) that are OOC for them.

Also…I wrote this for a while, but didn't post it up caz it just didn't feel right.

So please review and tell me what you think :)


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